Inspector

Training Course

 

Discovery Cube Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California

 

The THEA Award and AAM Muse Award winning Inspector Training Course (ITC) exhibit is the crown jewel of Discovery Cube Los Angeles (DCLA). Opened in Nov. 2014, DCLA is the first science and exploration museum in the San Fernando Valley. 

 

Set in a beautiful 2,200 sq. ft. open layout California Bungalow, the ITC experience is a technologically groundbreaking scavenger hunt that teaches kids about conservation and sustainability, furthering the museum’s environmental stewardship goals. Visitors are outfitted with their own tablets and go on immersive quests to master the skills of a home inspector. The tablet is part teacher, part scorekeeper, and part guide. It provides bits of information as needed, directs the kids to challenges and asks questions based on what they’ve learned and observed. Along the way, visitors meet animated characters embedded into set pieces that give important facts to help on the quest. Guests also engage with physical “work it out” challenges ranging from power consumption of different types of bulbs to the effectiveness of low-flow shower heads. The ultimate goal for the kids: to earn badges and become “Super Inspectors”. Average game time is 15 minutes, with many kids playing multiple quests at a time. 

 

The ITC experience seamlessly integrates the physicality of the space and objects within the house with the gameplay on the tablet. It allows for social interaction and tactile experimentation. It uses high-tech tools, and then makes those tools disappear. Running concurrently in the background, each tablet is supported by a unique game engine coupled to an invisible location tracking system. This system allows the game engine to know the exact location of each tablet. The game engine uses the information to guide guests to various areas in the exhibit and to provide location-specific content and challenges. The backend infrastructure also includes gaming analytics that provide the Discovery Cube with important information on game participation and levels of engagement.

 

Beaudry Interactive designed the gameplay, interface, game graphics and the game infra-structure at the heart of the exhibit. From start of design to opening: 7 months. Cost of the exhibit: $2.2MM. All gameplay is bilingual (English and Spanish). Demographic is 5 – 15 years old. Exhibit sponsors: Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation.

 

About the museum

Discovery Cube Los Angeles is an entirely new, 71,000 sq. ft. children’s science museum developed by the Discovery Science Foundation. Opened in Nov. 2014, it is the San Fernando Valley’s first science and exploration museum. It already ranks as one of the most technically advanced and regionally relevant science museums in the world. Its science-based exhibits seek to further the Discovery Science Foundation’s goals of promoting STEM proficiency, early learning, healthy living, and environmental stewardship.